


Garnet's First Day of School

by onethirdofimpossible



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Human AU, SU - Freeform, Steven Universe - Freeform, rupphire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-10
Updated: 2016-09-10
Packaged: 2018-08-14 06:31:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8002054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onethirdofimpossible/pseuds/onethirdofimpossible
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Garnet begins kindergarten! What an exciting day for her, and such an emotional ride for her mothers...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Garnet's First Day of School

**Author's Note:**

> I nearly forgot I wrote this, and left it for a month or so stuffed in the back of my "to edit" folder. I'm glad I rediscovered it! Happy reading!

Sapphire watched in amusement as Ruby bolted about the narrow hallways with a multicolored backpack in hand one second, an envelope of unfinished paperwork the next. She sighed heavily, but it quickly faded into charmed laughter. “You know, those forms aren’t due until Friday.”  
“So?” Ruby raised a hand to her head and clutched her hair in frustration. A few papers fluttered to the carpet. “This is Garnet’s first day. If we make a bad impression, we’ll know it for the next thirteen years!” Ruby exhaled sharply. “What’s her homeroom number again?”  
“Three hundred nine, darling. These are the two hundreds.” Instead of suggesting to her wife that she ‘calm down’, Sapphire pecked her on the cheek and whispered into her ear, “She’ll be fine, and so will we.”  
Ruby, who could never seem to relax, released pent-up tension in her body. Sapphire was the only person who could alleviate her worries with a simple reassuring smile or a gentle squeeze to her hand. “Okay.”  
“Take a deep breath.”  
Ruby’s breaths shuddered, but she felt them stabilize after a few repetitions. Sending Garnet to kindergarten had proven much more stressful than she originally anticipated. But this was a leap all parents must take, and she would push through strong as did every nervous mom before her.  
What Ruby found strange was that she had remained confident about Garnet beginning school until this morning. She awoke to a rushing heartbeat, sweaty palms, and tension that smothered what remained of her high spirits. She’d squinted at her alarm; it wouldn’t buzz for another hour, but worry prevented sleep from returning.  
The concept of school wasn’t as terrifying as knowing Garnet was growing up. Because they adopted her at two, Ruby and Sapphire had cared for her only three years. If Garnet was to be an only child, their parenthood was nearly one-fifth complete; that much of their daughter’s time under their watch had passed, able to be relived only by memory and photographs.  
After a near eternity of turning and waiting impatiently to feel weary, Ruby had finally accepted she’d woken up for good. Instead of preparing breakfast, she crept into Garnet’s room and simply admired how she had grown, and how she and Sapphire had grown with her. When Garnet’s eyelids began to flutter and the faint beeping of her alarm sounded, Ruby kissed her daughter’s cheek and wiped the tears blurring her sight.  
Sapphire wanted to chuckle at Ruby, who was suddenly mesmerized in thought, but she let Ruby have her revelations, and she, her own. Such a day seemed unreal, anyhow, acting as a portal to throw her simultaneously back in time to her own journey in education, and into the future of Garnet’s. Kindergarten year would bring a class of new friends and craft projects: a fleeting fallacy in light of later nights where she would fight sleep to bring a test grade up one letter. Sapphire, having been a near-valedictorian perfectionist in high school whose anxiety jumped whenever she scored a ‘B’, couldn’t bear imagining Garnet in her place. As a student, time not spent studying was a curse, so she’d never imagine valuing relaxation over academics. But Sapphire the mother would rather see Bs and Cs with a happy Garnet than a report card full of As and a distressed Garnet. Though she appeared stoic as ever, Sapphire’s nerves matched Ruby’s walking into Garnet’s first classroom.  
Garnet, however, tugged on their hands and begged to explore each new sight within her first five minutes. Sapphire sent Ruby a smug glance, though the unmistakable glimmer of tears lined her eye not covered by fringe. “She reminds me so much of you sometimes.”  
Garnet, with her high pigtails and cheery, youthful grin, toddled towards a table where coloring pages and crayons awaited her. “Look! This one has my name!”  
“That must be your seat, dearie.” Sapphire settled Garnet into her chair, speaking with a persuading excitement. “See how the other kids are working on their pages, too. I think this is your first assignment.”  
Ruby had already drenched her face, mumbling to herself. Sapphire wrapped her arm around her broad shoulders, and for a fleeting moment, they watched Garnet scribble, tuned into her own world. “Garnet’s taking it a lot better than I am,” Ruby muttered between sniffles.  
“She is a strong one, isn’t she?”  
Ruby’s eyes fell to her sneakers. “I mean… She seems so grown up, you know?” She forced a laugh, convincing herself to remain positive. “It’s like this is the last day for her to be our little girl.”  
Sapphire sighed, seeming somewhere between pondering and present. “I understand.”  
They took a moment to collect themselves and join the family in a final hug, Garnet’s last as the young girl her mothers knew her as. A few reluctant goodbyes and best wishes later, Garnet was on her own. The departing couple struggled to hold themselves together as they walked out of the school.  
“We’ll adjust, Ruby. Don’t worry.” Sapphire rested her head on Ruby’s shoulder, shutting her exhausted eyelids. The upcoming year promised to be long and adventurous. “Though you never understand how quickly children age until you have one of your own.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave feedback (kudos and/or comment) if you enjoyed!  
> (AO3's manual formatting is actually going to kill me. How do I put a blank line in between my paragraphs?)


End file.
